Lauderdale Man Confesses In Fatal Beating, Police Say

A Fort Lauderdale man was in custody Saturday, charged in a late December beating that left another man dead.

Justin Cruz died Jan. 3, 10 days after being hit in the head with a brick during a fight near Northeast Seventh Street and Northeast Fifth Terrace, Fort Lauderdale police said.

On Saturday, Frank Williams sat in Broward County Jail, charged with second-degree murder after making a confession to detectives.

"He admitted everything," police spokesman Sgt. Andy Pallen said.

Cruz, 25, was released from his third prison stint in early December and already had a bus ticket to Oklahoma, according to his mother, Patricia Kohut.

"He was looking to make a clean life after he got out this time," she said. "He was hoping to come up here and change his life. All the letters I have from him say that. He wanted to get out of there and change things.

"He wrote me a letter that if he didn't change his life, he'd end up dead like his friends," she said.

His bus ticket initially was for Dec. 21, but he wanted to stay in South Florida through Christmas to say goodbye to friends, his mother said. It was on Dec. 26, though, that police found him in a field with head injuries. He later died at Broward General Medical Center.

Detectives found witnesses who saw both a young man and a car leaving the area that night. After finding the owner of the car, they were able to learn the identity of the man seen fleeing. Williams, 18, was arrested Thursday, Pallen said. During questioning, Williams admitted he fought with Cruz, hitting him in the head with a rock. One witness told officers Williams said he attacked Cruz because Cruz had robbed his friends.

Both Cruz and Williams had several arrests for cocaine trafficking and possession.

Kohut said that while she's grieving over the loss of her son, she hopes that whoever killed him gets help.

"I want to see them pay, but I would prefer they get some help," she said. "It depends on how old they are. Have they gotten help before? Have they been through many programs before? I just want something good to come out of this."

Staff Researcher Bill Lucey contributed to this report.

Kevin Smith can be reached at kssmith@sun-sentinel.com or 954-572-2009.